How high can you count with your hands?

[chrissifniotis]

I've mastered a way to count as high as, and past 1000 with my two hands, who else can do it and who knows how?

Spoiler :

*starts monotonous singing* Binary, binary, binary, binary, base two, binary, base two, binary......

After the initial eurika moment, you start to understand why its more difficult to count, but I've practised it for years, I use it now to remember large numbers in equations I do at work, just to keep my brain going.

 

[Bigfoot3814]

This many!!!!!!!!

 

[Perfection]

They don't have paper where you work?

 

[Luckymoose]

They don't have paper where you work?

Australia was hit badly by the recession.

 

[chrissifniotis]

I'm on my feet all the time, so no, I must tend to get a notepad, but I don't think I need one.

 

[Ulyaoth]

What is this binary thing you speak of? I can't see that could help. Anyway, I just count on my fingers, remember how many times I've gone past ten. Simple.

 

[ainwood]

Moderator Action: So you want to discuss something here, or perhaps share wisdom?

So far, there is no real topic to discuss, and this is supposed to be a discussion forum....

 

[Shekwan]

I count with my head. What do you mean, count with your hands?

 

[Annex]

I can count to ten.

 

[Agent327]

I've mastered a way to count as high as, and past 1000 with my two hands, who else can do it and who knows how?

Spoiler :

*starts monotonous singing* Binary, binary, binary, binary, base two, binary, base two, binary......

After the initial eurika moment, you start to understand why its more difficult to count, but I've practised it for years, I use it now to remember large numbers in equations I do at work, just to keep my brain going.

It's relatively easy to count to 100 using fingers and knuckles, but do you mind explaining how you count to 1,000? (Also, when doing work that doesn't require concentration, i.e. routine work, the mind may wander, for instance on matters of actual interest. So I was wondering, instead of counting to 1,000, isn't there a mental problem you can work out while working?)

@ainwood: There's a discussion topic here alright, if you look close enough. (That posters so far haven't stumbled upon it is irrelevant to the topic at hand - although the OP might have been more clear about it. But perhaps this was done on purpose?)

 

[Perfection]

It's relatively easy to count to 100 using fingers and knuckles, but do you mind explaining how you count to 1,000? (Also, when doing work that doesn't require concentration, i.e. routine work, the mind may wander, for instance on matters of actual interest. So I was wondering, instead of counting to 1,000, isn't there a mental problem you can work out while working?)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finger_binary

 

[mangxema]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finger_binary

513!

 

[MagisterCultuum]

I can count to 8 (written 1000 in binary) on my fingers too. Big deal.

 

[PiMan]

He's talking about counting to 1023 aka 1111111111

 

[chrissifniotis]

@ ainwood: I apologise, the aim was to see the replies I got, and then deliever my point, and the point is this;

Perfection and Piman are right on the money, finger binary, however I must say, I figured it out myself, rather than go to Wikipedia.
We currently count with our hands up to ten, it was the basis and root of our counting system, base ten, where ten numerals are used in the digits of the numbers we see and use. Funny that base ten was started with base one, how we count with our hands, each finger counts as one, and no other vaule is present, it's also what gives 1 it's importance in mathematics.
But after experimenting with binary and other maths, I figured that simply converting the counting system from base one to base two, by assigning 0 to a gesture, closed finger, I could count up to 1023 by using binary. I then went further to say that, if a person, by some mutation, can get a third gesture of a finger, and designate it as 2, they would reach 59,048, and I kept going up until I reached 10 gestures, where I got 9,999,999,999.
I saw the pattern, with the exception of 1, the number of gestures, to the power of the number of fingers, minus one, is how high any person can count on their fingers.

Spoiler :

(g^f) - 1 = n when 'g' > 1

I myself use finger binary because I know I can, and I find difficulty in achieveing a third gesture in practise.

 

[PiMan]

My dad used to count this way naturally. He can still do it, but a lack of practice means he has to think about it more.

 

[Agent327]

@ ainwood: I apologise, the aim was to see the replies I got, and then deliever my point, and the point is this;

Perfection and Piman are right on the money, finger binary, however I must say, I figured it out myself, rather than go to Wikipedia.
We currently count with our hands up to ten, it was the basis and root of our counting system, base ten, where ten numerals are used in the digits of the numbers we see and use. Funny that base ten was started with base one, how we count with our hands, each finger counts as one, and no other vaule is present, it's also what gives 1 it's importance in mathematics.
But after experimenting with binary and other maths, I figured that simply converting the counting system from base one to base two, by assigning 0 to a gesture, closed finger, I could count up to 1023 by using binary. I then went further to say that, if a person, by some mutation, can get a third gesture of a finger, and designate it as 2, they would reach 59,048, and I kept going up until I reached 10 gestures, where I got 9,999,999,999.
I saw the pattern, with the exception of 1, the number of gestures, to the power of the number of fingers, minus one, is how high any person can count on their fingers.

Spoiler :

(g^f) - 1 = n when 'g' > 1

I myself use finger binary because I know I can, and I find difficulty in achieveing a third gesture in practise.

Interesting. Just as interesting as it is to know that digit comes from digitus (Lat. finger) and that certain tribes count(ed) using not only hands, but feet as well. On a sidenote, shepherd were able to count their flock not one at a time, but by glancing at the herd as a whole. (No trickery involved here.)

 

[Mise]

I can count up to a 1,111,111,111 in base 1.

 

[Erik Mesoy]

513!

And saying "132" is an awesome obscure insult.

 

[Death_Machine]

I can count to 11 if I use my hands to drop my pants!